Part 2, Research 5, Linear Perspective

For this research, I was to go on the internet and research the basics of linear perspective. Make some notes in my learning log.

I covered this in Drawing 1 and found it very interesting. We see perspective in many areas of life and it can be seen simply by holding up a viewfinder. I was drawing trees and found it very useful in assessing the different heights as I find a whole scene overwhelming and the heights can go a little wrong without something to guide me.

Photographs are also good way of seeing perspective as can be seen by the converging lines in the photograph below. You can see clearly the lines of cobbles converging and the linear aspects of the buildings as they move towards the horizon. Depending on the subject, and position of your object drawn the focal point can be on or off the paper.

Linear Perspective is about the linear aspects within your drawing which recede to your focal point, and the point on the horizon line where the imaginary lines meet. Well they don’t actually meet but appear to as the subject moves towards the horizon. This shows the size of your subject as it is seen within your picture and its size as it moves from the fore. We also see the distance apart of any parallel lines such as is seen with pavements, hedges etc, as they converge towards the horizon.

The diagram below shows one point perspective and here we draw a horizon line this is depending on what type of drawing you are doing, where your eyeline is, or where you want the horizon and focal point to be. Drawing a box is the easiest way to portray Linear Perspective which I have shown in the diagram I have drawn below.

Although these are not the best drawings you can see the three-dimensional aspect of the boxes. The top right a correct drawing, I have just not coloured the base of the box and whilst it is now finished in my sketchbook, I left this view and didn’t correct it, as is shows how confusing perspective is.

As can be seen from above all these have one point of contact on the horizon.

Two-point perspective has its uses such as drawing the corner of a building which has an area of interest receding from view on both sides. It uses the same rules as one point, only there are 2 points on the horizon your lines are directed to. You can see this in the diagrams below. Again these drawings show the different focal points on the horizon depending on how you are viewing your subject, which could be, below, in line or above looking down at the subject.

Three point perspective is slightly different and not used as much though it could be handy when looking up or down at a tall building such as chuch spire. You can see the central point is place centre line of the box/building and depending on where you focas is your lines recede towards the focal point. This one I found the most difficult to get my head around as it confused my brain, which isnt difficult.